In Defense of Wii

Nintendo has named its new system, and it’s called Wii. Pronounced ‘we’.

You don’t need me to tell you that the Internets have exploded. That GAF has slowed to a crawl and isn’t even accessible half the time. That 1up’s editor blogs are currently almost entirely dedicated to discussing why the name is a major misstep.

I often find myself in the position of having to explain why Nintendo’s latest move isn’t stupid. Why not — I’ll pick up that task again today. Wii isn’t a bad name.

Let me start out by saying that it’s not as if I like the name Wii. In fact, as I glance up at the Title: field that I filled in two minutes ago, it looks utterly oxymoronic. Wii doesn’t sound like something that’s defensible. It isn’t the name of a video game system.

And that’s where its power lies.

Again: I’m not saying that the particular name choice strikes me as brilliant. But the type of name is really what matters. It’s distinctive, it’s simple, it’s iconic. It’s half-word, half-picture. And damn if it’s not going to get people talking.

Is it a homophone for a British slang word that means “urine”? Yes. But so is the first-person plural pronoun. If I said, “What are we doing tonight,” would you repeat back to me, “What are wee doing tonight? Huh? Huh? Get it?” I would wonder what the hell your problem is, quite frankly.

The French word for “yes” also rhymes with “wee,” and indeed this was the subject of much hilarity in French class. When I was in sixth grade. By seventh grade, when we turned thirteen, we were over it. That the Internet in toto is less mature than a group of thirteen-year-olds is not surprising, but neither is it damning to Nintendo’s fortunes.

Of course, I expect the Internet to brim over with toilet humor; that is what the Internet is for. But the Internet is not real life. They’ve already proven this in a variety of ways related to Nintendo product announcements. Remember the almost universal outpouring of disdain following the announcement of the Nintendo DS? Nintendogs?

And look where that got the Internet. Nintendo DS is nothing short of a nationwide cultural phenomenon in Japan. Nintendo pushed hard away from the traditional notion of a video game system and did quite well for their efforts.

In short, the fuss over Wii is an Internet Problem, not a Real Life Problem. In real life, the name’s soundalike will pass almost entirely without notice. The positives of Wii will vastly outweigh the negatives.

I do like something about Wii. I like that it is further evidence — very strong evidence — that Nintendo has stopped paying lip service to the mainstream and started aggressively pursuing them. You can’t run after the mainstream with a ball and chain that reads VIDEO GAMES around your ankle. There needs to be a clean break.

Nintendo is so intent on breaking free from the shackles of traditional notions of “video games” that it is even abandoning its own name.

It’s not the “Nintendo Wii.” It’s the Wii.

Why not stick with Revolution? Because global branding is of paramount importance. The “Genesis/Mega Drive” days are over. One world, one name. And “Revolution” was never going to fly in Japan, where the word is nearly unpronounceable. The end. If it’s a shock to anyone, it’s only to those who can’t imagine a world beyond their tiny corner of it.

In the comments thread of my original news post, Peter B. pointed out quite well why Wii:

Talking to people that have worked in games retail, you find that normal people can’t/don’t/won’t keep the names of the systems straight. People ask for “PlayStation 360s” and “PlayCubes” and “Mario on Xbox” even though they actually own a GameCube – to them the system names are confusing and completely interchangeable.

This is basically Nintendo trying to create a name and brand that is in no way similar to the others, in order to be distinct in the minds of consumers. They see the ad, they actually retain the correct name, and they go and ask for it at the store.

Also, while it may sound dumb to us, you know that they focus-tested the hell out of it in all three territories and, at the very least, it’s not completely repellent to those focus groups.

In short: it’s not a video game name; that’s the whole point; and you can bet that Actual People, as opposed to the Internet, won’t have a problem with it.

And Peter, for the record, isn’t in love with the name either. But you don’t have to like something in order to think it’s a good call. Eventually — possibly by the end of the day — we’ll all be totally used to it.

Still, the core gamers are anxious to be appeased. Not just name-wise, but content-wise. Nintendo’s gently patting the Internet on the head and telling them that it will be alright, but all the while they’re pushing hard in the opposite direction. Nintendo has decided that if they had to choose, they would choose the vast market of non-gamers and not the smaller market of core gamers.

But this doesn’t mean you get left out. PCs are the preferred gaming environment for a certain subsection of core gamers, and indeed they offer the richest, deepest, most detailed game worlds in existence. But PCs are also the current home of the casual gamer, in ever-growing numbers that vastly exceed the dwindling hardcore PC gamer crowd.

If PC makers and software developers had to get together and choose between the casuals and the core, who would they pick?

If you’re feeling enraged, picked on, or left out, I highly encourage you — as I would have encouraged you yesterday — to go out and buy an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. If Nintendo is right, and I think they are, you’ll end up with a Wii anyway.

The Internet likes to complain, but they don’t call the shots. Nintendo knew the reaction it would get. That’s why they unveiled it now, not at E3. At E3, the focus will be back squarely on the games. And they’ll still be amazing.